DROITWICH ace Matt Richards was crowned national champion in five events at the British Summer Championships in Sheffield.

The 15-year-old bagged seven gold medals and two British records while missing three other bests by a combined time of only 0.28 seconds.

This season Richards has collected international caps for Wales in Luxembourg and Rome as well as representing the English Schools at the World School Games in Morocco.

He also broke four British age group records during the campaign as well as six Welsh junior, five regional junior, five senior county and eight junior county bests.

Richards attends the Royal Wolverhampton School and trains with their elite squad as well as being dual-registered with Worcester Swimming Club who he still competes for and trains with at times.

At the British Summer Championships he competed in the 16 year category after qualifying for nine events among the top 24 fastest times throughout the UK. 

He was ranked first for five, in the top three for two individual medleys and in the best five for the 400m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

Richards targeted five events and competed in two relays for his school. He won the 100-metre freestyle in a personal best of 50.57 seconds after cruising through from the heats in 51.52.

Richards bossed the 100m butterfly heats with 55.39 and then claimed the national title in 54.51 which was a British age group record.

He won the 50m freestyle in a PB of 23.38 after qualifying first.

Richards broke the British age group record in the 200m freestyle in 1.50.84 for a gold after swimming 1.54.79 in the heats. The teenager qualified first in the 50m butterfly and won in 24.93.

He added relay golds with his school in the 4x200m and 4x100m freestyle.

Richards said: “I’m really pleased with how it went.

“There is still lots of work to do for next season building towards bigger and better things.

“I couldn’t do what I am doing without the brilliant programme and support at the school and my coaches Marc Spackman and Tom Elgar as well as from my family.”

Richards begins his new season at the start of September.